This graham cracker crust recipe is essential for S’mores Pie and a perfect counterpoint to the tart, creamy filling of Key Lime Pie. You’re sure to find many uses for this sweet, versatile crust.–Allison Kave

LC Sugar-Free Note

You may notice that this graham cracker crust is sugar free. Well, that is, it’s devoid of added sugar. There is, of course, some sugar in the crackers. But the recipe itself calls for no granulated sugar. It’s just not needed, seeing as most pie fillings are amply sweet. If you’re thinking that this is wrong and that you’re accustomed to adding a smidgen of sweetness to the graham cracker crust recipes of your childhood, just humor us this once. Then let us know how it goes in a comment below.

Graham Cracker Crust

Ingredients

1 1⁄2 cups finely ground graham cracker crumbs

5 to 8 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted

Directions

1. Preheat the oven to 350°F (175°C).

2. Crumble the graham crackers into the work bowl of a food processor and process until finely ground. (Alternatively, you can toss the graham crackers in a resealable plastic bag and whack them with a rolling pin until they’re finely crushed.)

3. Dribble 5 tablespoons butter into the graham cracker crumbs and, using your hands, mix until the butter is fully incorporated and the mixture has the texture of wet sand. It may be necessary to add more melted butter, 1 tablespoon at a time, to obtain the desired consistency.

4. Firmly press the crumbs against the sides and bottom of a 9-inch pie pan. (The underside of a glass measuring cup works really well for smoothing the bottom of the crust.) Refrigerate the graham cracker crust for at least 15 minutes.

5. Bake the graham cracker crust for 8 to 10 minutes, or until lightly browned. Let the crust cool completely before filling.

Recipe Testers Reviews

I made the graham cracker crust recipe with graham cracker crumbs and it was a total snap. Since graham cracker crumbs tend to be drier than graham crackers themselves, I used 7 tablespoons butter. I could have gotten away with 6, but I was feeling indulgent. Ten minutes in the oven seems too long, as the edges got quite dark after the go around in the oven with the filling.

This graham cracker crust recipe is very good. Under the right circumstances, I could sit down with the crust alone. It's buttery with just the perfect amount of sweetness. It needed just the 5 tablespoons melted butter to hold it together. I baked the crust until it was lightly golden, which took the full 10 minutes. It would be fantastic with many of your favorite fillings.

Lev, not at the moment. By way of explanation, over the years we’ve asked our testers to try a couple different recipes for homemade graham crackers, and the recipes we’ve tried have been lackluster. I remain on the lookout for a better recipe, but have yet to find it. Rest assured, when we do come across the right recipe, we’ll link to it from this and every other recipe on the site that calls for graham crackers.

Made it today. Almost all gone. However, I used not 1 1/2 cups of sugar in the filling but 1 1/4 cups, and next time I’ll use even less. Overall a success, but the crust by the dish walls was a bit too hard. Nevertheless, it didn’t stop anybody.

Miriam, lovely to hear from you and I’m glad you tweaked it to suit your own personal preferred sweetness. I dare say that the brand of graham cracker used plays into that as much as personal preference, seeing as there’s a lot of difference in sweetness out there. As for the crust getting a bit hard, I’m wondering, did you by chance use a glass pie plate? I’ve had the same thing happen to me before I learned that I was supposed to turn the oven down by 25° if using glass. If you used metal, I’m wondering—and forgive me, I’m not trying to assign blame, merely trying to troubleshoot—if perhaps it’s possible the crust was thicker on the bottom and lower sides of the dish? Or do you mean that everywhere the crust was in contact with the dish, it was hard?

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